Together Forever
by TheWicksyWarrior
Summary: It was New Year's Eve and Carol, Sonia, Pam, Les, Billy and pretty much the rest of Walford had arrived at The Vic - even Mick's explosive Boxing Day attack hadn't put off his punters! Little does Carol know that she's about to witness a shock return which is sure to turn her life upside down!
1. Chapter 1

"Finally, a night to enjoy without listening to Liam's rap records all night!", joked Carol - she obviously loved her Grandson, but tonight she finally had a night she could enjoy in the company of her friends and daughter. "Mam, nobody calls them records nowadays!", scoffed Sonia. After Sonia's mistletoe kiss with Billy on Boxing Day, Billy had been hovering around Sonia like a fly around shit for days! "CD's aren't they, Son?", Billy chipped in as Sonia nodded with a small smile. Carol and Pam exchanged a smile as they cottoned on to what Billy was trying to achieve - little did he know that Sonia's feelings for any man had long gone after Martin.

"Eurgh, get off me, Billy!", squealed Sonia as she kicked Billy's foot away underneath the table. Carol began to loose her rag with Billy now and he soon picked up on the negative tension so he made his excuses and finally left. "Whoops, sorry mate", apologised Billy as a tall man barged past him through the bar doors. Billy turned around briefly but then had to take a double take at the frustrated stranger he had just crossed paths with. "What's he doing back?", he questioned himself as he began to walk back into the pub. The stranger, who was hidden underneath a tall black coat, quickly ran into the men's room, in which Billy followed...

"Look at the state of me!", the stranger muttered as he shook the droplets of rain from his jacket and began to fix his hair. Little did he know that he was being spied on. Unfortunately, Billy lost his footing near the toilet cubicle and a loud shuffling noise was heard. "Hello?", questioned the stranger anxiously. "Anyone in here?". By now, Billy was close to crapping himself, but he had to know if his inkling had been correct. He stepped out of the cubicle and breathed a huge sigh of relief. "I knew it was you!". "Yeah, well keep your big mouth shut for now. It's pretty obvious why i'm back so there's no point in asking a question you already know the answer to", he snapped. "I wasn't going to ask. I see you're still as big headed as ever. She's not going to be interested, you've had chance after chance! I think she's finally realised that she's through wasting her life with a scumbag like you!", ranted Billy before he was interrupted. Billy was now pinned up against the bathroom wall, face to face with the angry returnee. "How dare you speak for her! You have no idea how things ended between us.", he spat. Billy cowered but stupidly still tried to act like he had the upper hand. "One more move and i'll get Phil", threatened Billy. The stranger scoffed at his pathetic remark, "Ahhh, good old Billy Mitchell. You could never fight your own battles, could you? Well, you better get used to it. Because David Wicks is back for good!"...

Billy ran out of the toilets as soon as David had released him from his grip. At that point he couldn't care less about his weak threat - even if it did involve Phil Mitchell. There was only one person on his mind at that time. Carol saw Billy run quickly out of the toilet doors and towards the bar doors and tried to stop him. "Billy! What's the rush!", Carol shouted. "Carol, you need to go home - now!", said Billy with a pungent shake in his voice, looking around to see if he had followed him out. "What the hell are you talking about?", Carol questioned as she turned to Pam and gave a half laugh. "You've not spiked his drink have you, Sonia?", joked Pam. Sonia walked over and put her arm around her mother, "What's going on, Billy?". Billy dragged the pair outside and down the alleyway. "Listen to me. You don't need to know why, you just have to leave - okay? A few days, a week or so... please!", pleaded Billy. He wasn't quite sure why he was being so protective of Carol and Sonia but what he did know is that he couldn't let the man who nearly broke his spine get away with hurting him...

"I won't do anything of the sort unless you tell me why!", demanded Carol with a fierce look on her face - she was really starting to get worried now. "Ughh... well... I might aswell... It's David, okay?". Just that one word was enough for Carol to lose control of herself at that moment. It felt as if she was about to shut down. She hated feeling like this, but it was the only way she knew how to feel when he was brought into the mix. "Mam?... Are you okay?", Sonia asked in a soothing tone. "D-... David?", Carol stuttered. She could feel her hands beginning to tremble. She couldn't even feel mad at this stage. Even though she ordered him to stay away, she couldn't even think about any of that at this moment. Just that one word had transported her back to that fourteen year old love sick child again. David.


	2. Chapter 2

"I guess there's no point in trying to protect you from him, you've obviously never stopped obsessing over that obnoxious, big headed twat!", snapped Billy. Suddenly, Carol was brought back into the present. Hearing those negative thoughts that people associated David with made her realise why she had thrown him out in the first place. However, her thoughts were everywhere at the moment and she needed to find a quiet place to think - and fast. The last thing she wanted was to see him before she made any rash decisions, so she hopped into Sonia's ratty old car and sped off. "Mam!", Sonia's voice echoed through the square. "Thanks a lot, Billy. You should have just kept that big nose of yours out!". Billy sighed angrily, feeling as if he'd just wasted his time. "Well don't blame me when he breaks your Mum's heart again!". Billy's words were like a yoyo in Sonia's mind for the rest of that day. "He's right", she agreed...

Carol had already arrived at her destination - it was now up to Sonia to try and figure out where that place was before she made her decision. Carol on the other hand was still stubborn, not sure if she was even intending on making any bold decisions, yet there were so many things swirling through her mind. Carol was at church. She remembered that the hospital Vicar had invited her to pop round any time she liked if she wanted to discuss anything with him. "Hello again!", she began as the Vicar slowly turned around to see her face. "Errr... Hello...Again?", the Vicar continued, hoping he didn't sound rude. "It's okay, it's been months. I'm Carol if that rings any bells? I came to see you in the hospital when I had breast cancer", the Vicar's face soon lit up as he remembered who she was. "Ahh yes, I'm terribly sorry. I suppose I didn't recognise you without your headscarf", he smiled and she returned a half smile which then turned into an outburst of tears and pain...

Sonia used Emma's policing skills to track down her Mother using her phone and quickly arrived at the church. "Why didn't I think of this?", she muttered angrily at herself. She burst through the doors to see her Mum being comforted by the Vicar, a huge stream of tears rolling down her now flushed face. "Mam!", she yelled as she ran over to her. This was the first time she'd ever seen her Mum like this. It obviously shown how much David affected her, but Billy's words had remained with Sonia. Last time she advised her Mum to do what she wanted - look at how that turned out! Of course she wants her Mum to be happy, but she also wants to protect her and save her from yet another heart break. "Mam, I think you...", she was sharply interrupted by Carol. "Look, I know what you're thinking. But this is what's going to happen. I'm 51 years old. All my life i've wanted to be in a happy, settled relationship. Just think, this time last year I was nearly on my way to making that happen. It was me who threw that chance away. I'm not incapable of making decisions...", Sonia interrupted, "Mam, I know you're not", Sonia sighed, "I just don't want to see you go through another heart break". They hugged each other while Sonia wiped away her Mother's tears. Sonia continued, "Listen, I may have had my brain washed by Billy Mitchell today - that doesn't happen a lot! But, I know how much David means to you. I hear you cry in your room at least once a week and his wedding shirt is always hung up on your window frame next to your bed. I've never been his biggest fan, but even I have to admit that last time he really did change for you. That proves how much he cared. That he was willing to give up being the man he's been for nearly 40 years just to please you!", Carol smiled and turned to Sonia...

"Billy is right to be cautious of him, but that was only because he didn't know what happened last time. Hardly anyone does. Sometimes even i'm not sure what happened. Even though that day loops through my mind almost 24/7, the words that came out of my mouth that day seem like gobble-dee-gook now!", Sonia gave a half laugh and allowed her Mum to continue, "Just being here today and seeing the Vicar has reminded me of how lucky I am to be here. If I keep letting go of these chances, these chances to be happy, one day there won't be another chance because i'd have ran out of time. I'm lucky to be here and David was the main person who helped me the most through my cancer. If he wasn't there, to support me not just financially, but emotionally aswell... i'm not sure i'd even be here today.", tears began to appear in both Sonia and Carol's eyes. Meanwhile, David had already bumped into Emma half an hour ago - is Carol's decision making time almost over?


End file.
